Lovely Monster
by MagicalMaria
Summary: As the life she's built online is destroyed in the blink of an eye, Karin's last ray of hope crumbles. With so many directions to embark on in Ikebukuro, she finds herself rubbing elbows with fellow Raira Academy alums, color gangs determined to endanger her life, and an info broker who's more than willing to embrace a version of herself that even she doesn't recognize. IzayaxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Quick disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! and I sadly never will ;-; But I DO own this fanfic and all the ocs in it^^ I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

**?:** Hey Karin

**Karin: **...? Hello? Who is this?

**?:** It's Azuki lol

**Karin:** Σ(･口･) !

**Karin:** Azuki! OH WOW! How r u?

**?:** Am good n u?

**Karin:** good! ｡^‿^｡

**?:** lol

**Karin:** Did you get a new phone? I didn't recognize the number

**?:** Yeah but I was stupid and lost all of my contacts

**Karin:** How'd you get my number? lol

**?:** I bumped into your sister on the street the other day!

**Karin:** Rly? She never said anything

**?:** yeah she said you were back in town

**Karin:** Oh geez. What else did she say?

**?:** Just that you were taking a break from school

**?:** I guess America wasn't as great as you thought it would be?

**Karin:** lol nah. University life just wasn't for me.

**Karin:** Plus I felt super homesick lol

**Karin:** What about u? R u still going to school?

**?:** Nope lol we're pretty much the same right now lol

**Karin:** lol yeah

**Karin:** I'm on my break at work rn btw

**?:** u work?

**?:** Where?

**Karin:** lool yeah!

**Karin:** I work at a family restaurant v('ω')

**?:** Where? Can I stalk u?

**Karin:** lol in Shinjuku

**Karin:** I'm trying to save enough money so I can move out of my parents' place.

**?:** lol same

**?:** I'm trying to move out of here too

**?:** My dad's been super annoying since I quit school n its driving me crazy

**?:** It must be worse for u tho

**Karin:** haha yeah... (´∀｀；)

**Karin:** My parents threatened to kick me out of the house if I didn't get a job

**?:** Srsly?

**Karin:** Yeah. Honestly, it's been pretty bad since I moved back in.

**?:** They didn't want you to major in art right?

**Karin:** Yeah...;;

**Karin:** And I failed even tho I went to study abroad, which only makes things worse. (╥_╥)

**Karin:** So they hate me more now than they did before I left...

**Karin:** But I've been getting a lot of hours at work so I've been saving a lot.

**Karin:** I just really wanna get out of here as fast as I can...

**?:** You will Karin

**?:** I know u can do it!

**?:** ok we need to hang out

**?:** Oh I need to get you high at least once!

**?:** WE NEED TO PARTY!

**Karin:** lol wut?

**?:** What's the craziest thing you did while you were at uni?

**Karin:** lmao

**Karin:** You've turned wild since going to college ಠ_ಠ

**?:** hahahaha nah just a lil bit

**?:** I can't wait to hang out!

**Karin:** What about karaoke? I haven't gone since I came back to Japan

**?:** r u serious?

**?:** u need to go out and live woman!

**?:** we aren't kids anymore u know

**?:** R u free tomorrow? I'll take you to this one bar in Ikebukuro

**?:** No little kids allowed

**?:** it'll be fun

**Karin:** Well I kind of wanted to stay in and just draw tomorrow... (-｡-;

**?:** um no

**?:** We haven't hung out in forever! I'm gonna go all out baby!

**?:** I'm gonna help you meet a guy!

**Karin:** lol

**?:** U can do it!

**Karin:**〔´∇｀〕;;;;

**?:** U need to live a little. Take a break from drawing and hook up with someone

**?:** Ur a grown ass woman now!

**?:** It's not like we're 5 lol

**?:** I'll be your wingwoman!

**Karin:** Azuki plz no lol

Karin doesn't lose her smile even as she shakes her head at Azuki's antics.

It's been almost a year since Karin's abrupt return to Japan, and hearing from Azuki was probably the best thing she could've asked for right now. What with her mother wanting to murder her for being_"the family disappointment"_ and her father treating her like less than a stranger; this was definitely the highlight of her year.

Even though the conversation on the topic had been brief it sounded like Azuki's college experience also hadn't gone the way she'd planned, and Karin couldn't help but feel a tiny bit relieved about that - as selfish as it was. Though a part of her would be lying if she wasn't at least a little taken aback by her friend's sudden fixation on partying and insistence that she just _"live a little"._ Okay, **really** taken aback, but this is Karin we're talking about here. She's always been a bit of a late bloomer when it came to these sorts of things, and they weren't teenagers anymore so they weren't being rebellious or anything, it was just what people her age did. It was completely normal, and normal wasn't something Karin found easy to do. It wasn't like Karin was a total prude, either. Her time abroad had certainly proved that...

Plus, Karin and Azuki had gone their separate ways after high school so what had she expected? That everyone she'd left behind in Japan had put their lives on hold during her two-year stay in America? She knew that she should just be grateful that Azuki was back in her life at all, but Karin couldn't help but want to go back to the times when the most they had to worry about was what they'd have for lunch. Not whether or not they had enough savings in case their parents finally kicked them out of the house.

Even though she'd fought her parents tooth and nail and made the decision to get away, she'd still failed anyway. Now she's back and she has to start over again and figure out where she fits into the world again. It was all so tiring.

With no sign of Azuki's reply, Karin goes ahead and saves her contact info.

"Hanazawa-senpai," Ayano calls as she enters the break room. "Your lunch is over."

Karin immediately pastes on a smile. "Ah, thanks, Kishii-san." She straightens her waitress uniform and reluctantly places her phone back into her locker. "How's it looking out there?"

"Pretty crazy. I had no idea the dinner crowd could be this rowdy."

"Well it's only your second day here, that's usually how it goes." Working as a waitress at a restaurant was something Karin would've never pictured herself doing in a thousand years, but it was the best she could do on such short notice. "You'll get used to it. If I can do it, then you definitely can."

* * *

Karin was on the brink of collapsing when the last of their customers finally made their way out the door. She bowed and thanked them from the bottom of her heart as her long and torturous day at work finally came to an end. Locking the glass doors behind them was the only silver lining to an otherwise lackluster day of service. Despite what she'd said to Ayano earlier, the job never really got any easier in Karin's opinion, but that was probably because she didn't like being around people she didn't feel comfortable with. And that included most people. Dealing with low-life shitheads who'd only bitch and complain about their food whether overcooked or not on the daily had become her day to day life, but Karin was always trying to convince herself that the shitty treatment would all be worth it as long as she got her paycheck. She really really tried.

As she fought to desperately climb out of the hole she'd dug with her bad life choices, Karin glances up and before she knows it has collided with a waitress carrying a tray. All of their plates are knocked loose from their delicate stack and shatter on the brown tile floor.

"I-I'm so sorry Shinomiya-san! I didn't see where I was going."

Shinomiya Hina, who'd also been hired around the same time as Karin 8 months ago, tries to smile despite the exasperated look in her eyes. "You really need to be more careful, Hanazawa-san. Grab me a broom and help me clean this up."

"I'll go get it," Ayano says. Karin notices her cleaning a table nearby with a small smirk on her face, and she hurries ahead before Karin can move. "Wow, I didn't know you were such a klutz, senpai."

"Not usually," Karin says, breathlessly.

Ayano gives her a doubtful look and snorts.

* * *

The way Ayano had spoken to her that night had really unsettled her. She'd never seen her talk with anybody else at work with that tone, and the way she'd looked at her had been almost patronizing. Karin's been accused of being overly sensitive in the past so she hoped she wasn't reading too much into her behavior. Ayano was only 16-years-old, after all, which made her Karin's kohai. She didn't have as much experience as Karin did in the workplace and probably hadn't meant anything with her comment, so it had probably just been a slip of the tongue. No big deal.

The next time Karin works with Kishii Ayano again is two days later.

Things were off to a good start in the beginning: Ayano and Karin exchanged curt greetings as they both clocked in, and then they each went off to attend to their guests in their assigned seating sections. Ayano had only needed a few days to acclimate herself to the job and she was currently steamrolling her way through her shift like no tomorrow. It was definitely impressive, but even Karin wasn't about to sell herself short today. Not only was Karin able to convince a five-year-old to stop running around the establishment without causing a scene, but she'd also been able to summon an absurd amount of patience while explaining each item on the menu in meticulous detail to a group of old ladies with one foot in the grave. She'd also had her fair share of rude customers throughout her shift but even that wasn't out of the ordinary.

No, what was out of the ordinary was the sensation of being watched throughout the day.

Karin hated drawing attention to herself, but being a waitress meant it was normal for there to be eyes on her at any given moment. The prying eyes just came with the job.

But this was different.

Everyone in her section had been attended to and was either enjoying their meal or in the midst of conversation. When she went around to each table asking if she could be of any further assistance everyone thanked her and insisted they were fine. There wasn't anyone in line waiting to be seated, and there wasn't anyone loitering outside of the restaurant in front of the large windows. Maybe it was just Karin being overly sensitive again, but she just couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching her.

When she glances over at Ayano she sees her effortlessly attending to customers with that same bright smile on her face, and Karin decides it's all in her head. _You're being paranoid_, she tells herself. _You should be working right now. _

As she quietly adjusts herself and turns back toward her section, she notices a lone man waving to her from his table.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

"Oh, I was wondering when you'd finally turn around. You seemed rather distracted over there."

Karin feels her face flush and immediately bows. "I'm so sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

The man in black smiles and waves absently at her apology. "Ah, I didn't mean to reprimand you or anything. It was just an observation. It's probably been a long day for you, am I right?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

There's a short pause before the two of them laugh at the same time, and Karin finally feels some semblance of calm as all the tension she's built up is released from her body.

"Could I get you a refill?" she asks attentively, gesturing to his emptied glass.

"Could you? That would be great, thank you."

However, when Karin tries to take the cup from his hand the man refuses to let it go. She feels herself flinch as he's positioned closer to her now, and her eyes flit back to him questioningly. His voice is soft and gentle as he whispers in her ear.

"By the way... Does waitress-chan over there always give you the evil eye?"

Karin's heart plummets as all the other people in the restaurant completely vanish.

"Huh?" she replies, but it comes out in more of a harsh whisper.

"The waitress-chan over there," he says louder this time. He looks over her shoulder without any sign of discretion. "She's been giving you the evil eye this whole time. In fact, it's been pretty unsettling if you ask me. I was thinking you could give her the evil eye back to give her a taste of her own medicine!"

He lets go of the cup as Karin turns around to look at Ayano, who was practically vibrating with fury as she collected plates off a vacated table nearby. It was the first time she'd ever seen her so outwardly angry or upset, so what other explanation could there be except that she'd been caught red-handed? As a result of the man's outburst, Karin is also vaguely aware of the silence that had fallen over the restaurant. Everyone was really watching her now.

"I'm sure she's just tired or having a bad day," Karin says, giving him an encouraging smile.

He gives an abrupt laugh. "Is that right?"

"Yeah, it's only been a few days since she's started working here so she probably isn't used to it yet. Try not to take it personally okay?"

"My mistake then. Thanks for clearing that up, miss."

Her explanation seems to satisfy the rest of their lingering onlookers as their attention moves onto something else and the restaurant comes back to life.

Karin feels her energy rapidly depleting as she excuses herself to finally refill the man's drink. Ayano says something under her breath as Karin passes by, but she doesn't hear it because her heart is beating in her ears.

* * *

At the end of the day, Ayano makes a show of bidding everyone in the restaurant farewell. She takes her time telling each of the kitchen staff goodbye while cracking jokes, then walks around Karin so that she can hug Hina before leaving the restaurant without so much as a backward glance.

* * *

When she gets home from work, Karin notices a familiar user on the Picgem website has sent her a direct message.

**Miki-chan:** Good evening~~~~ (๑ᴗ๑)

**Rin:** Haha, good evening! （＾∀＾；）

**Miki-chan:** Oh no! Did I catch you at a bad time, Rin-chan? (´；ω；｀)

**Rin:** Not at all! I'm happy to stick around now that you're here, Miki-chan ^^

**Miki-chan:** Aaaaw~~~! I just wanted to tell you how much I loved your newest drawing!

**Rin:** Again? lol

**Miki-chan:** Of course! (人´∀｀)． ．。．:*･°

**Miki-chan:** I can never get enough of your drawings! You keep getting better and better each passing moment and I'll keep telling you how great your drawings are for many years to come! ( ≧▽^))

Karin gives a half-laugh and decides to hang out at her computer desk a bit longer.

Miki wasn't the first person to acknowledge Karin's artwork when she first started posting it online, but she was the only one who'd stuck around long enough to really see how much she's improved as the years have gone by. Miki's account on the illustration website they frequented only existed for the purpose of following artists she liked rather than post any art herself, but she preferred it that way and was always encouraging Karin with direct messages or notes on her profile. It was even thanks to her that Karin was able to get past an especially bad art block recently and was currently experiencing a comeback creatively since returning abroad.

Despite having never met in person or even knowing each other's real names, Miki was always encouraging her and had become one of Karin's most trusted online friends. Sometimes they'd even let out their frustrations about family or work to each other, or just mindlessly message each other about any new manga or anime on their radar. Talking to Miki was different than it was talking to Azuki since her best friend wasn't really involved with Karin's corner of the art world online, and in some ways, Miki fit the definition of a best friend better than Azuki did.

**Rin:** Thanks Miki-chan! (Ｔ▽Ｔ) Hearing you say that always re-energizes me and motivates me to keep going! It's really appreciated after the awful day I had at work today. OTL

**Miki-chan:** Oh no! What happened this time, Rin-chan?（・□・；）

Karin doesn't sleep until 4 am that night.

**Picgem is basically this story's version of Pixiv~ **

**Let me know what you guys think and hopefully I'll see you guys back in the next one ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

It sounded as though the doorbell was gradually increasing in volume from behind her bedroom door as Karin woke up from a long, yet restless night's sleep. In her groggy state she has difficulty telling it apart from her alarm at first, but as soon as she hears Coco barking, she knows it's the doorbell. Even from upstairs, she can hear her mother greeting their guest in a sweet voice reserved for people who weren't her eldest daughter.

Every Saturday, their neighbor, Miss Sakamoto, was invited over to their house for breakfast and tea. The whole neighborhood knew her as the weird plant lady, because rain or shine, you'd see her out in her front yard rearranging or planting the newest addition to her garden for maybe the hundredth time, or giving some poor neighbor grief because they weren't doing a good enough job of maintaining the flowers they'd carelessly stuck in their yard. She was a middle-aged woman with two married children, recently divorced from a husband of 20 years, and had way too much time on her hands. Karin couldn't stand her. Regardless of how she felt, however, Karin's mother had befriended the woman and gone as far as inviting her into their home, if not for any other reason but to be first in line to hear whatever gossip the divorcee had collected that week.

That obnoxious doorbell ringing is still sounding in Karin's ears, and she wishes to the gods that she could simply go back to sleep. Last night had been amazing in terms of art productivity. She'd scanned some of her latest sketches to her computer after work and gotten started on even more ideas for her ever-growing portfolio online. The process had lasted all night but Karin didn't mind. She was really proud of the mountain of used sketchbooks in one corner of her childhood bedroom and of the even larger digital gallery saved on her computer. Even the poster above her bed was a print-out of one of the first drawings she'd posted online that had gone viral; A girl wearing a gown made of stars that formed the backdrop of space, and a slew of planets and galaxies shaped as tears dripping from the girl's heavy-lidded eyes making up the universe. Most of her drawings revolved around women and some fantastical or supernatural setting, and Karin was thankful to see so many strangers online be so drawn to her ideas.

Drawing was her favorite thing to do in the whole world, and as long as she had that then she felt like she could navigate through just about anything life threw at her. But right now, she really had to try to get back to sleep, at least until she had to go to work later that afternoon. Karin pulls her covers over her head and tries to do just that, but then she hears loud voices from some morning talk show coming from the TV downstairs, and her mother and Miss Sakamoto laughing like they'd witnessed the funniest thing in the world, and she has no such luck.

Then someone starts knocking on her door and Karin wants to cry.

"Hey, sis, you awake?" her sister's muffled voice asks. "Karin?"

Karin was the oldest of the Hanazawa children at 22-years-old, her sister, Sumire, is 18-years-old, and Coco, (the Shiba Inu dog their parents had replaced Karin with while she'd been away) is 3-years-old.

When Karin doesn't answer, Sumire bursts into her room.

"Get out," she mumbles with a hoarse voice.

"I need to borrow your shorts. The ones with the white stripe?"

"Why...?"

"So I can wear them over the ones I'm wearing now. You know how mom gets about skin-tight clothes."

Karin hears her sister aimlessly shuffle through her dresser drawers and she rolls over so she's able to face her. Sumire has workout clothes on and her long brown hair up in a ponytail. She wears a bright pink sports bra beneath a white tank-top, her favorite worn-out sneakers, black biker shorts, and carried a Mint-colored sports bag Karin had given her for her 15th birthday. Sumire was as athletic as Karin was artistic. She played in Raira Academy's female volley ball team all three years and got a scholarship to a Tokyo university where she was currently majoring in business.

As her older sister, Karin was genuinely proud of Sumire for being the family's golden child. Her sister was everything that she wasn't, and she exuded a type of strength that Karin could only ever dream of possessing. It was because of this that Karin often joked she was adopted because she didn't have any interest in math or business like Sumire and their father did, or had the athleticism their mother possessed back when she'd played tennis in high school, but Sumire never played along. She's always expressed her amazement of her big sister's art skills and still held onto drawings Karin had drawn for her as a kid. Once, to Karin's horror, Sumire had even smuggled one of her sketchbooks into her 6th grade class and showed it to all of her teachers and friends. She'd been furious and utterly humiliated by the act, but when Sumire looked at her with stars in her eyes and told her how much everyone had loved it, Karin couldn't help but forgive the little thief.

Tired of watching said thief struggle, Karin reluctantly reaches for her glasses on the bedside table. "They aren't in my underwear drawer, genius."

"But that's where I keep mine."

Karin sighs and sits up. "They're in the bottom left drawer."

Sumire opens a drawer but only finds shirts. "Where?"

"I said on the bottom left side."

"Mine or yours?"

"Both our lefts are the same," Karin snaps.

Sumire laughs. "I know. I'm just joking." She cheers when she finally finds the pair of shorts and slips them on right there. "Do you mind if I borrow a sweatshirt, too?"

"Might as well."

As her sister starts digging through her closet, Karin hears the pleasant jingle of Coco's collar before she bounds into her room and immediately joins her on the bed. Since her return, Karin's spent the majority of her time at home in her room behind a closed door, opening it only to the jingle of Coco's collar or Sumire's voice. Coco nestles with her in the covers and furiously wags her tail as Karin scratches the golden fur between her pointy ears. Now that the energetic pup was here, any chances of getting back to sleep were pretty much gone.

Karin drops her head and lets out a half-hearted sigh when Coco licks her nose. "Sumi, can you do me a favor and make me some coffee?"

"Aw, why me? Can't you make it yourself?"

"I would if the neighborhood parrot wasn't downstairs. If I hear her brag about her dumb daughter moving to Germany _one_ more time I think I'm gonna set my head on fire."

Sumire shakes her head slowly but smiles. She looks around the room as she slips on one of Karin's sweatshirts and is drawn to the abundance of items on her desk. There's art reference materials covered to the brim with tabs on each page, leather-bound sketchbooks and graphite pencils scattered around a large art tablet placed in front of the monitor, along with candy wrappers, three empty ramen cups stacked into one another, and an extra large mug stained with repeated servings of coffee sitting on top of a spattered mouse pad. If it weren't for the cute anime figurines surrounding her desk, people would probably think the desk belonged to some middle-aged office worker.

"Mom's going to be real mad if she sees you eating up here," Sumire remarks. It was a known rule that food and drinks weren't allowed anywhere upstairs, but Karin's trips into the kitchen have been fairly limited as of late. She's gone as far as taking shifts at the restaurant to avoid being home during meal times, and microwave meals like ramen were her go-to during the night when it was less likely she'd cross paths with their mother. She's been saving money like crazy, so stockpiling on ramen, candy, and drinks have been the only splurging she's done with her paychecks. If it weren't for the free meals that came with her job, Karin would've probably died of malnutrition a long time ago.

"Mom's always mad," she says, rolling her eyes. "And you're one to talk. I seem to remember a certain someone stashing candy in their closet somewhere? Or was it under the bed?"

Sumire makes a little noise of shock.

"And when was the last time you did your laundry? You wouldn't be in here borrowing my stuff if you had any clean clothes to wear."

Sumire sticks out her tongue noncommittally and smirks. "Okay, okay, I'll make you your damn coffee. But what am I supposed to tell mom?"

She shrugs. "If they're watching TV then she probably won't even notice."

"Fine. But I'm replacing your cup with one that isn't rooted to the spot." She twists her mouth as she lightly taps the mug's handle but lingers at her desk to keep examining her drawings. She points to one of a woman with small bat wings growing out of her head. "Whoa, this one's pretty neat. It's weird but it kinda works."

"Thanks. I was thinking of making another one with bird wings to make a set."

"How do you come up with this stuff, sis?"

Karin smiles and scrunches her eyebrows. "I don't know. I just do?"

"I'm glad you're still drawing," Sumire tells her, and Karin can tell that she means it when her voice alone plays with her heartstrings. Sumire doesn't have to say it, but she knows. She knows how utterly devastated her older sister was to have to return home. Not only had Karin failed, but she'd failed at doing something she loved, and Sumire could tell better than anyone how broken it had left her.

Karin wasn't the affectionate type, but her younger sister was the only person in their family who's ever taken the time to really look at her art - to care, and Karin adored her for that. But Sumire never went against their parents the way Karin did, and whenever they'd use her sister's achievements to belittle her, Karin was resigned with being their target. She liked to think that by directing all of their hostility toward her that it had given her sister the room to grow into the confident young woman she was today, even if it did end up causing an emotional distance between the two of them. Sumire was great at sports, could dance without worrying about what others thought, and could make friends with just about anyone, but because of their skewed upbringing, they couldn't develop the type of relationship where they could be honest with one another. Not about things that were so deeply personal. Not about things that mattered.

At times like this, all Karin could really do was turn to Coco to keep her eyes from watering.

"What else would I be doing?" Karin says dismissively. "When I'm not working, I'm drawing, and when I'm not drawing I'm coming up with more ideas for drawings. It's all I've really known."

Sumire looks at her, but without missing a beat she nods and smiles. "That's true. Just try not to lose too much sleep over your pretty art. You'll scare away all the customers if you show up to work looking like that everyday."

She scoffs. "I do not."

Sumire laughs gently as she walks toward the door. "Ugh, yeah, you probably do. Those bags under your eyes could suffocate a toddler. And sis, you've really got to start tidying up your room. I thought I saw something move on your desk just a minute ago."

Karin does her best to keep herself from smiling but fails. "You little brat. I bet your room smells like used gym socks."

"If you go into my room I'm not making you coffee," Sumire sings as she walks out.

Karin sits there for a while, smile on her face, scratching Coco's belly.

* * *

She didn't go back to sleep after Sumire delivered her coffee, and she was exhausted. Truly and utterly exhausted, but happy. She managed to finish one of last night's drawings and was able to post it online before dragging herself to work. It's been getting all sorts of notifications and comments from her followers throughout the day and she was thankful. Even when Karin had to wait tables on 3 hours of sleep, she knew that she could always count on her fans to never let her hard work go unappreciated. Seeing all of their praise and sweet comments now during her lunch break was a real confidence booster.

Deciding to act on her optimism she sends a message to Azuki. The two of them have been messaging each other nonstop for the past 2 months since reconnecting, and it's really helped diffuse any of Karin's doubts about their friendship since being separated for so long. It was honestly the most fun Karin has had in years, and she was super stoked to have her best friend back in her life again. She had Sumire to thank for that, of course, so she'll have to add that to the ever-growing list of favors she owed her younger sister since returning home. Doing her laundry would probably make the little snot more grateful, but Karin hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.

Azuki, who hadn't had much interest in college to begin with, lost motivation all together after discovering her boyfriend of 6 months had cheated on her and dropped out of school before the end of the first semester. Azuki insisted he wasn't the main reason for her decision but Karin could tell that he'd inevitably been the trigger. Like Karin, Azuki was currently living at home with her parents but had been able to find a job as a barista in a cafe in Ikebukuro.

**Karin:** Hey Azuki, if you ever wanna visit me at work I'll give you a discount (u v u)

**Azuki:** Aw thanks lol

**Karin:** no prob. Just don't be telling everyone cuz I can't give everyone discounts（⌒▽⌒）

**Azuki:** Who am I gonna tell Karin? How many friends in common do we have? lol

_Ouch,_ Karin thought. _Way to rub it in._

**Karin:** truuue

**Azuki:** I'll make sure to publish it in the news paper lol

**Karin:** lol plz no ( ਊдਊ)

**Azuki:** ew what is that face?

When they went to the arcade last weekend, Azuki had jokingly suggested the two of them find a place to rent together so that they'd finally be free to _really_ enjoy their 20s, but Karin couldn't help but quietly make up excuses to decline. Whether she liked to admit it or not, Azuki had become a bit of a party girl after high school. Azuki would drunk text Karin more often then not most nights after she'd get home from work, and would invite her to mixers and bars and all sorts of clubs. Karin wished she could take her up on her invitations at least once, but after taking a quick glance at her social media, it didn't take long for Karin to realize that Azuki was still hanging out with at least two of the same girls from their old circle of friends. Well, girls who'd sit at their lunch table in high school and were technically Azuki's friends, but Azuki would always insist that that made them her friends too, though Karin knew that that really wasn't the case. And she would rather avoid them at all costs then be forced to deal with _that_ mess again.

Azuki was admittedly one of the most popular girls in their whole grade, so it came as no surprise to Karin when her friends would get weirdly possessive of her and upset after discovering she'd made friends with the nerd who loved drawing anime characters all over her notes. Drawings that Azuki loved by the way, because the funny and gorgeous and popular girl that was Azuki was also a big fan of manga and anime boys, and that made her all the more awesome in Karin's book. If her dumb friends weren't so caught up in appearances and whatever dumb social ladder they were climbing, maybe they would've been able to bond with Azuki over all the nerdy things they were so busy ridiculing and that she'd been forced to live a double-life to enjoy.

Toyoguchi Azuki was her best friend who everybody seemed to like more than her, but she was fine with that. As long as she had Azuki and her followers online, Karin could care less.

Ayano bursts into the break room with Hina then, giggling like crazy over something stupid one of the chefs had probably told them again. Karin does her best to ignore them from her seat at the table in the middle of the break room as she awaits Azuki's reply, then opts to look at more incoming notifications of her drawing.

The table suddenly shakes as Ayano hops up and places her butt directly across from Karin. Hina's giggle becomes obnoxiously loud despite the hand covering her mouth and Karin can feel her eyes on her. She looks up then and finds herself being watched by both Hina and Ayano, who's looking directly over her shoulder at her.

"Um, do you mind?" Karin asks.

"Not really," Ayano shrugs, sending Hina into another fit of giggles. Karin rolls her eyes, which seems to be the wrong move because Ayano twists her body until one of her arms reaches across the table and she's looking down at her. "You know your phone's been vibrating like crazy in your locker the whole day, right? Don't you think that's super inconsiderate of you to do when everyone's just trying to relax during their break? Yuri-san said she thought she was gonna go crazy because of how annoying it was and even left to eat her lunch in her car instead."

"She actually did that?" Hina blurts out.

"Yeah! I've never seen her so pissed!"

Karin watches as Ayano throws her head back and laughs. She wasn't quite sure how things had gotten this bad, but ever since that customer had called her out those 2 months ago for giving her the evil eye, Ayano's become more bold about expressing her dislike of Karin and only seemed to be getting worse by the day. Where Karin was quiet and mostly kept to herself, Ayano was loud and never failed to make any of their other coworkers laugh. She sucked up to the manager whenever she had the chance and spoke to all of the chefs in a way that would give any grown adult cavities. Even Hina, who Karin had gotten along with moderately fine before, had become one of Ayano's stupid tools. Everyone seemed to think she was a welcome edition to the restaurant except Karin, who found her vindictive personality too alike to those who'd bullied her behind Azuki's back. The only thing making the whole situation a thousand times worse was the fact that Ayano was so much younger than Karin, but even that seemed to inflate her ego.

Whenever she'd talk down to her like this, Karin's entire body would begin to shake and the lump in her throat would always refuse to go away. It was silly, Karin knew, but she just couldn't help but be reminded of the bullying she's put up with in the past, and she hated herself all the more for it. She was older now, she's matured, she had people online who admired and looked up to her so why did she continue to feel so small? Whether Ayano was telling the truth about her cellphone or not hardly mattered at all. Who the hell did she think she was to treat her like this? This brat was really beginning to get on her last nerve and if she didn't get her stupid ass out of her face right now, she-

_"Hanazawa,"_ the manager shouts as she slams open the break room door, "What are you still doing in here? Your break ended ten minutes ago!"

Karin's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as she checks the time on her phone and bumps her hip against the table as she bursts out of her chair.

"Can you please stop fiddling with your phone and come do the job I'm paying you to do? The dinner crowd's lining up out the door because of you right now." Just as Karin mutters apologies and goes to put her phone away in her locker, Ayano whispers something to Hina that makes her laugh. "Couldn't you girls have reminded her?"

"Isn't it senpai's job to remember her own schedule?" Hina asks innocently. "She's older than us after all."

"Good point. Ayano-chan, what are you doing on the table?"

"This is the best spot for the air conditioning, Yuri-san," she says, swinging her legs like a kid at a playground.

The manager snorts and shakes her head. "Then just move the table you silly girl."

"I can? _Yay,_ thanks Yuri-san! You're the best~"

Karin misses a near collision with Ayano as she jumps off the table and bolts out the door with the manager at her heels. "Hanazawa, you aren't a child anymore. Do I really have to talk about phone etiquette in the workplace with you too?"

Somewhere behind her, Karin swears she hears a roar of laughter.


End file.
